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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. land — ground
  3. last — to go on
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. staff — employees
  7. stock — goods
  8. charge — a price
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. field — for sport
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. field — farmland
  15. charge — electricity
  16. field — a subject
  17. staff — employees
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. staff — a stick
  20. stock — shares
  21. charge — in control
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. last — finally

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com